Padding apparatus with anti-flowback guide

ABSTRACT

A padder with padding box, dip roll or kiss roll and padder rolls is provided with an additional roll over which the fabric moves and which is located above the nip of the padder rolls so that the fabric slopes down to the nip. This prevents pad liquor which accumulates as a pool just before the nip of the padder rolls from running down the fabric, which can cause off-shading, color variations and the like. The position of the anti-flowback roll is not critical and it can cause fabric to lead down to the padder roll nip through angles varying from 1* to as much as 355*, with 30* to 45* being a preferable range.

i1 1 te States Patent Laney, Er. et a1.

[ 1 Sept. 11, 1973 PA DDING APPARATUS WITH ANTl-FLOWBACK GUIDE 3,619,831 11/1971 Oberholtzer 8/1493 Primary Examiner-William 1. Price Attorney-Robert Ames Norton et al.

57 ABSTRACT [73] Assignee: J. P. Stevens & Co. 1nc., New York, 1

NY. A padder with padding box, dip roll or kiss roll and padder rolls is provided with an additional roll over [22] Flled' 1971 which the fabric moves and which is located above the [21 App]. No.: 190,493 nip of the padder rolls so that the fabric slopes down to the nip. This prevents pad liquor which accumulates as 5 l.. a pool just before the nip of the padder rolls from rung fl E 8 B05: gg g i g fig ning down the fabric, which can cause off-shading, [58] Fie'ld 8/151 ,1 l 149 color variations and the like. The position of the anti- I flowback roll is not critical and it can cause fabric to lead down to the padder roll nip through angles varying [56] References Cited from 1 to as much as 355, with 30 to 45 being a preferable range. UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,737,042 3/1956 Mathewson et al 68/202 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented Sept. 11, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.1

PRIOR ART FIG. 2

INVENTORS CAMPBELL P. LANEYJR WILLIAM THOMAS WHITE A R L. MERCER BY W ATTORNEY Paiented Sept. 11, 1973 3,757,545

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PADDING APPARATUS WITH ANTI-FLOWBACK GUIDE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Padding is an operation which is used extensively in the treatment of textiles to pad dyes or other colors or chemicals, such as finishes and the like. In general the apparatus includes a pad box in which the liquid to be padded is maintained at a suitable level and four rolls, one roll above the level of the pad box for passage of the fabric over it, a dip roll causing the fabric to dip below the level of the liquid in the pad box, and padder rolls having a nip well above the level of the liquid in the pad box. As the rolls turn and the fabric is moved through the padder, the nip rolls, which squeeze the fabric, produce a pool or puddle of padding liquor just before the nip. This can cause flushing of the pad liquor, carrying it into interstices in the fabric and in some cases removing dyes, such as direct or other unfixed dyes, to the surface of the yarns. This effect can be particularly troublesome in cross-dyed fabrics with light and dark shades as it can reduce the brightness of the lighter shades. The drawbacks caused by the formation of the pool or puddle in front of the nip of the padder rolls and running down on the material is not so serious that padding operations cannot be carried out, but it does reduce the quality of the padded fabric and so constitutes a drawback which has been hitherto considered as a necessary price to pay for the advantages of the padding procedure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention eliminates the formation of a pool or puddle at the nip of the padder rolls which can run down the material being padded and so eliminates the undesirable flushing of the pad liquor, off-shading, and the like. According to the present invention an additional roll or rolls are provided in the padding apparatus located above the nip of the padding rolls and positioned so that fabric coming from under the dip roll passes up over the additional or anti-flowback roll and then down to the nip of the padder roll. No pool or pudventional padder and it is, therefore, not necessary in order to enjoy the advantages of the invention to build new padders. Also, the individual elements of the padder need not be changed and the materials and surfaces of the various rolls remain unchanged. The antiflowback roll requires no special metal, except of course that is must have a surface which is not adversely affected by the padding liquor as the fabric wet with the liquor passes over the surface of the roll. If the padding liquor is somewhat corrosive, as is sometimes the case with certain colors, the anti-flowback roll must be of suitable material so that it will not be damaged. For example, the roll may be of stainless steel or of ordinary steel covered with suitable material, such as plastics which are not affected by the padding liquor.

While the simple single anti-flowback roll avoids the major problems discussed above, in certain special cases where there are stringent pollution controls it is possible to decrease the amount of dye or chemical lost at the end of a run in finishing or dyeing. Even this can be avoided by a further modification in which dyes or chemicals are transferred to the fabric by an offset or,

as it is usually referred to in the art, kiss roll. This dle of padding liquor can then be produced at the nip and run back down the fabric, and so the drawback which had hitherto been considered an unavoidable concomitant of the padding operation is avoided. At the same time the cost of padding is not increased as only additional idler roll or rolls are required, the cost of which is negligible.

It is an advantage of the present invention that the exact location of the anti-flowback roll is not critical. Of course it must be above the nip of the padder roll, but the position of the roll can be varied so that the angle of the fabric with the horizontal may vary from as little as l to as much as about 355. Ordinarily for best operation a position of the anti-flowback roll so that the fabric slopes down at an angle from 30 to is preferred.

When padding by the present invention is used, the squeezed padding liquor passes through the fabric to the back, which eliminates surfacing and flushing, and produces a very uniformly padded fabric. All of the advantages of the present invention are enjoyed without any loss of padding speed, so that the present invention does not represent a compromise.

Another advantage of the present invention is that an anti-flowback roll can be mounted simply in any conavoids submerging the fabric in the dye bath as in the simpler modification referred to above. This modified system decreases waste from padding and stream pollution by a large amount, in certain cases percent, but it is somewhat less convenient for modifying existing padders. In the case of a newly constructed padder, the modification is sufficiently advantageous so that ordinarily it is preferred in new constructions. Where the present invention is to be incorporated in an existing padder or padding system, the question is largely one of economics, namely whether the somewhat more complex device is worthwhile in view of the savings in material waste and/or treatment cost to avoid stream pollution. It is an advantage of the invention that the best compromise can be chosen under the conditions of a particular plant.

The present invention may be considered as an improved padding apparatus or as an improved process, and both aspects are included in the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a section through a conventional padder in purely diagrammatic form;

FIG. 2 is a similar section through an improved padder of the present invention including a single antiflowback roll, and

FIG. 3 is a similar section through a modification using a kiss roll for transferring chemicals to the mate rial rather than submerging in a liquid bath.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS v FIG. 1, which is a diagrammatic representation of conventional padders of the prior art, shows a pad box (1) with padding liquor having a surface (8). Fabric is shown at (2), and the motion of the fabric is indicated by the arrows. Incoming fabric moves over a guide roll (6), then down through the padding liquor underneath the dip roll (3) and up to the nip between the padder rolls (4) and (5). The pressure of the nip rolls causes a pool or puddle of padding liquid to formjust before the nip. This is shown at (9) and is exaggerated in depth for the sake of clea rness. Padding liquor from the puddle (9) can flow down the fabric coming up from the padding liquor and the hydrostatic effect coupled with the nipping force can cause colors or chemicals to be carried through the padder nip. In the case of some colors which are unfixed, such as direct dyes, this can cause the color to be carried through the nip and to the surface of the fabric, producing non-uniform padding.

FIG. 2 shows a similar diagrammatic section through one form of padder of the present invention. The elements which are common with FIG. I carry the same reference numerals. However, there is an additional element (7), an anti-flowback roll,-which is mounted sufficiently above the nip of the padder rolls (4) and (5) so that the fabric after passing over it slants down to the nip between the padder rolls (4) and (5). As a result, any padding liquor which is squeezed out by the nip rolls cannot flow back down over the fabric and the disadvantages of such an effect are entirely eliminated. The squeezed padding liquor passes through the fabric to the back and elimiantes any surfacing or flushing and assures uniform padding and, when the padding is with a coloring solution, uniform color. When cross-dyed shades are to be produced consisting of a light and a dark shade, the brightness of the lighter shade is retained and is not diminished, as is the case with the prior art padders illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a modification of the present invention in which dyes or chemicals are transferred to the fabric by a kiss roll (12) in a dye trough (13). Several additional rolls hold the fabric against the kiss roll and guide it to the anti-flowback roll (7). Any liquid flowing back from roll (7) to the nearest guide roll (10) drops into the trough (1) from which it flows through the pipe (11) to the trough (13). The nip rolls (4) and (S), which perform the same function as in FIGS. 1 and 2, carry the same reference numerals.

As the drawings are diagrammatic in nature, the par' ticular surfaces are not illustrated in detail.

We claim:

1. In a padding apparatus comprising a padding box for holding liquid, a coating roller positioned to be in contact with the liquid and the fabric to be padded, and a pair of nip rolls, the bottom roll contacting the same padding liquid, the improvement which comprises an anti-flowback guide positioned so that fabric after padding passes over the anti-flowback guide at an elevation above that of the nip of the padder nip roll, whereby the fabric slants down to the nip of the rolls.

2. A padder according to claim 1 in which said coating roll is positioned so that fabric passes under said roll through the padding solution and up to the antiflowback guide.

3. A padder according to claim 1 in which said coating roll is a kiss roll which transfers padding solution to the fabric moving up to the anti-flowback guide.

4. A padder according to claim 1 in which the positioning of the anti-flowback guide causes the fabric to slant down to the nip of the padder rolls at an angle of from 30 to 45" from the horizontal.

5. A padder according to claim 2 in which the positioning of the anti-flowback guide causes the fabric to slant down to the nip of the padder rolls at an angle of from 30 to 45 from the horizontal. 

1. In a padding apparatus comprising a padding box for holding liquid, a coating roller positioned to be in contact with the liquid and the fabric to be padded, and a pair of nip rolls, the bottom roll contacting the same padding liquid, the improvement which comprises an anti-flowback guide positioned so that fabric after padding passes over the anti-flowback guide at an elevation above that of the nip of the padder nip roll, whereby the fabric slants down to the nip of the rolls.
 2. A padder according to claim 1 in which said coating roll is positioned so that fabric passes under said roll through the padding solution and up to the anti-flowback guide.
 3. A padder according to claim 1 in which said coating roll is a kiss roll which transfers padding solution to the fabric moving up to the anti-flowback guide.
 4. A padder according to claim 1 in which the positioning of the anti-flowback guide causes the fabric to slant down to the nip of the padder rolls at an angle of from 30* to 45* from the horizontal.
 5. A padder according to claim 2 in which the positioning of the anti-flowback guide causes the fabric to slant down to the nip of the padder rolls at an angle of from 30* to 45* from the horizontal. 